Card file compressor



Feb. 9, 1960 R. L. MYERS CARD FILE COMPRESSOR Original Filed April 27,1955 Pg 6. Pg

IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent CARD FEE COMPRESSOR Raymond L. Myers, Vestal, N.Y.,assignor to Ray Myers Corporation, Endicott, N.Y., a corporation of NewYork Refiled for abandoned application Serial No. 504,338,

This application October 19, 1956,

April 27, 1955. Serial No. 617,177

2 Claims. (Cl. 129-28) or drawer used for filing cards.

File cards are commonly used for tabulating various data thereon bymeans of punch marks, and these cards are fed through an accounting ortabulating machine for recording the various data indicated by the punchmarks. In order that the cards may be fed readily and properly throughthe machine, it is necessary that the cards be held in a non-warped andwell protected condition. It, is, therefore, desirable that the cardsstored in a file tray or drawer be held under high compression andprotected against injury. Various types of compressors have beenemployed heretofore, but those which are slid into position, and clampedagainst the cards manually may not 'provide a sufficient pressure tohold the cards in the required shape. Also, it is important that thecompressor employed for the purpose occupy the minimum of space in thetray and that it may be readily slid into position and easily operatedand particularly that the force applied by the compressor may bemultiplied through a mechanical movement sufi'iciently to give a highpressure against the cards.

The primary objectof this invention is to satisfy these requirements andto provide a compressor in a card file tray which may be operatedmechanically to give a high compression on the cards and yet may bereadily released therefrom.

Another object of this invention is to provide a card compressor whichmay be mounted on a single wall of a file tray or drawer, and whereinits construction is such that cards may be held under adequatecompression, as

is particularly required for punched cards which are to be protectedagainst warpage and injury.

A further object of this invention is to provide a compressor with amechanical movement which insures that after the compressor has beenbrought up against the cards it may be moved to a further extent withoutlarge manual effort to force the cards together and hold them in anon-warped condition.

, Another object is to provide a compressor construction which may bemounted on a side wall of a tray and will give a positive cardcompression and hold the cards so tightly packed that the tray may becarried in any position without the cards spilling out. Other objectswill be apparent in the following disclosure.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention!Fig. l is a perspective view of a compressor mounted on a slideway withthe card file tray Wall omitted in which the compressor is in aninoperative, non-compressing position;

position;

2,924,222 Patented F b. 9, 1960 Fig. 3 is a sectional detail of thecompressor slide parts and tray wall shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional detail on the line 4-4 ofFig. 2 showing the relation of the compressor lever to the associatedparts;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic top plan view showingin exaggeration theangular arrangement of the compressor relative to the opposed tray wall;

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic sketches showing the relativepositions of the operating handle and the pawl which applies compressionto the cards; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of a tray body in which therack bar and compressor are to be mounted.

The preferred tray construction comprises sheet metal .fashioned to forma side wall 10 integral with and perpendicular to a bottom 11. These inturn are suitably connected with an end wall 12 and an opposing end wall13,

now Patent No. 2,895,485, issued July 21, 1959, and No. 617,176 andfiled on even date herewith. The side wall 10 is provided with aslideway or compressor track formed of a U-shaped member 14 having twoflanges 15 in the same plane and parallel with but spaced from the innerface of the side Wall 10. The side wall 10 may also have a U shapedflange providing a surface 16 which lies in substantially the plane ofthe sides of the flanges 15 which engage the cards, so that cards mayrest adequately against and be aligned by those surfaces 15 and 16.

The compressor comprises a standard 20 of sheet metal which isintegrally connected to a U-shaped slide plate 21 having inwardly curvedend portions providing flanges 22 which fit and slide relative to theunder sides of the track plates 15. The standard 20 is somewhat U-shaped for strength and provided With an in-turned end flange 24 whichrests on and is welded to the slide plate 21. The out-turned edges 23 ofthe open side (Fig. 4) of the U-shaped standard 20 are rigidly Welded tothe face of a further plate 25 having a strengthening peripheral flange26. The plate 25 provides a plane surface arranged at a required angleto engage the face of the adjacent file card. This plate 25 ispreferably arranged at an angle slightly less than such as 87, relativeto the side wall 10 (as shown in Fig. 5). Thus the end of the platefurthermost from side wall 10 provides a 16 of the tray, so that theslight inclination of the plate 25 is suflicient to give a clampingpressure against the outer portions of the stack of cards, as shown inexaggerated form in Fig. 5.

In order to clamp the plate 25 against the cards with the desiredcompressive action, I have provided a rack bar on a Wall of the tray andpawl carried by the compressor which is manually operated by a lever.This comprises a rack bar 30 (Fig. 2) welded on the lower face 31 of theU-shaped piece 15 of the tray. As indicated in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, theteeth 32 of the rack bar have'vertical faces 33 facing toward the frontof the tray or in the direction of movement of the compressor tocompress the cards.

The teeth may be formed as shown by cutting U- shaped slots in a metalbar in a spaced arrangement, which provides parallel teeth with theirsides substantially parallel. The standard is held in an adjustedposition relative to the rack bar by means of a rocking pawl 35 which ismounted for movement both pivotallyand ard 20. A furtheriflange 39z(Figs...2 and'4) istformed by cutting a .U-shaped .slot in the .centralplate portion f the standard and bending the free metal inwardly toextend at right angles to :the inner face of-the standard .20 and formanintermediate .or central pivotal support for the rod '56.

Therend of. the rod whichcarries :the pawl 35is mounted win an"elongated vertical slot 40 which =exten'dsfthrough ,theflange s24 andtheslide .platezl. Thiscsl'ot .40 provides for a transverse movement ofathe pawl :relative to --the'standard, so that the free end ofthe pawlmay pivot where the edge 49 -engages the face 25, as shown in aboutratooth groove. The lower end of the slot 40, .which is elongatedtransversely. of therstandard, is aligned gwith the two bearing :holesin the .flanges 38 -andz39.

Therod .36 has suflicient resiliency so that "it may be bentin that slottransversely of thestandard. The pawl on the end of the rod is urgedtoward the rack barby a coiled tension spring 42 suitably secured to the:rod and touthe lower horizontal wall (Fig. 2) Of the standard 20, sothat the pawl end of the rod may be lifted when the pawl is swung aboutits free end through a vertical 5 or .dead center position-and thenreturn to the bottom of the elongated slot, while the pawl is alwaysengaging the tooth groove.

The rack bar teeth are soshapedthat the. grooves there- .between formfulcrums or pivot points about which the :free end of the pawl maypivot, and the tooth face 'toward the cards is :so shaped as to providea pawl confining space having a surface against which'thepawl may braceto compress the cards. The sides of thexslot .in the standard 20 (Fig.2) provide bearing surfaces parallel with the plate 25 for confining'therod 36 laterally, and the right hand surface of the slot receivesthelateral thrust ot'the pawl when the latter is braced against a tooth tocompress the cards. The spring urges the pawl rod 36 towards the end ofthe slot 40 nearestithe rack bar and holds the pawl 35 inengagementlwith a tooth slot when the handle has positioned it for acompressing movement of the compressor.

A pivoted handle lever 45 (Fig. 4) is provided with a curvededge 46which serves as a hand grip. The handle is fixedat its lower endpermanently to the 'rod 36, as by having a portion wrapped around therod (Fig. 2) .and welded in place at 47. This rod.36 thus forms apivotfor the handle lever 45. The U-shaped standard plate 20 terminatesat 51 beyond or at theleft of this ,lever 45 (Fig. 1), so that the levermay be fastened to the rod 36 and be rotated manually. Thehandle 45 hasa flange 48 projecting at right angles from its exposed vertical frontface which has a vertical edge 49 adapted wall against which the cardsmay be compressedand it is preferred th'at the compressor "be rhouhtedsolfly on to be brought into engagement with the rear of the wallf 25when in an end clamping position. This limits the handle motion. a

The tray structure may be widely varied. As shown in Fig. 9, itcomprises a suitable front wall 12 of sheet -rnetal secured to the sidewall 10 and a low side wall 61. The bottom 11 may be integral with theside walls -10 and 61, such as by being shaped from a single piece -ofsheet metal, andthese parts are suitably welded or secured to thefrontzwall. Therear wall comprises an open metal frame 13 suitablywelded or securedto the T side walls and bottom, and this frarneprovides, hand grips for suspending and carrying the tray vertically.

' In its operation, the lever handle 45 may be thrown away from thecardsand the pawlis moved into a fori wardly inclined or non-bracing positionas vshown in 1Fig. wherein the edge 49 (Fig. 1) of theflange 4 8 isremote from the card compressing plate 25; The

pawl is then inoperative. When -the-handle -45 isawung outwardlyrelative to the plate 25, the pawl 35 is in a forward position (Fig. 1)and disengaged from the rack bar teeth which permits the compressorslide 21 to move freely on the surfaces 1=5;anc l towards and from thecards. After the compressor plate has beenmoved up against the filecariis, tlielever M5 ihay be swung upwards and forward towards the plate,25 through a short distance to swing'the'paw'l 35 into enig'agetrient.with fone of the adjacent teeth grooves of "the rack bar, as shown bythe relative positions of the compressing plate 25 t :and the pawl 355mFigs-'6. "When'th'e lever 45 is swung the tension of the coiled spring42; This permits the pivot center of the pawl to move transversely ofthe compressor standard. "When-thehand -lever' 45 is moved to a point'Figs. 2and"8,-tl1e pawlwhich has remainedin the :r'aine tooth grooveis/urged by the manual swinging "(lithe "lever and the force of thespring =42 to thrust th'e com- -"pressor--plate 25 tightly ag'ainstthe=-cards. 0f the spring -i'ss'uch as to "The strength applied by theeonipressingaction.

For releasing th'e cardgiit merely ne'cess'ary'to piill the handle lip46 away '-from the compressorp'late Z5. and thiscauses areversaldfmotion'of the pawl, in which its pivot rod -36 again moves transverselyin the slot ing the action, sincethe re1easing-movetnentof "thecoinpressor plate is awayfroih t'he cards'r The diag'ranuti'aticsketches of Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show the rela'tive movement of thecompressor plate as the pawl 35 swingsthrough the yariousposit-ions. i

While the file tray *h'as 'b'een illustrated in Fig. are having high andlow side walls i't -'will 'beunderstood that the file tray could havetwo high side walls "In t that case i the compressor is mounted .on onlyone "wall and there is but'a single slideway wand a single slidesupporting the compressor. Itis, however, rq-uired that thetray have aside wall, "a =bottom wall and an'etid one ofthe-walfls for movementtoward the cards. The

compressor is i slidably mounted on a track on that wall and it carriesa pivoted pawl, such as a gear tooth or pawl, which engages a -raek=barsuitably mounted or formed on the side wall of the tray. "The pawl is sopivotally mounted onthe standard that itfmay be swung by a cam Y orlever action from a fully released position into engagement with therack bar andthereafterpivot about its point ofconta'ct withtherack-barfm forcing to urge the pawl into engagement With'the toothgr'oove o'fthe rack bar an'dto hold .the pawllinfits..final bracedposition after it has passed dead-center. That is, the pawl is mountedboth for pivotal movemeht'and for a transverse it movement across ,deadcenter relative to the rack bar, "so that when the pawl islfswung ffr'omthe position of Big. .6 to thatiof ,Fig. {8 while in-engagement withsesame 'rackbar groove it causes the compressor to move forward towardthe cards by that distanceinhold t'he p'awl in place, and *the pawl is:so inclined as to form a brace against "any rearward motion ofthe=compressorplate under the'forc'es volved in swinging the pawlrelative to the stationary pivot of the groove of the rack bar.

It will now be appreciated that various modifications may be made inthis construction within the principles of this invention to providethis pivotal movement of the pawl about the point at which it engagesthe rack bar and thereby provide the desired thrust against the cards.Hence, various mechanical movements may be employed for swinging thepawl about that rack bar point and for holding or urging it in a finalclamping position. Hence, various modifications may be made in theconstruction within the scope of this invention. The above disclosure istherefore to be interpreted as setting forth the principles and apreferred embodiment of the invention and not as imposing limitations onthe appended claims.

This case is a refile for my application Serial #504,338, filed April27, 1955.

I claim:

1. In combination with a rectangular card file tray having bottom andside walls and at least one end wall, a horizontal slideway tracksecured to one of said side walls and extending longitudinally of saidtray, a rack bar secured to said one side wall parallel to said track, acompressor standard transversely mounted in said tray intermediate theside walls thereof and slidably connected at one end to said slidewaytrack solely for longitudinal movement in said tray to compress the filecards between the compressor standard and one end wall of the tray; theimprovement which consists of means for initially locking the compressorstandard in a desired longitudinal position in the tray and forsubsequently displacing the standard a small distance toward theassociated end wall to compress the file cards therebetween, comprisinga horizontal resilient pawl rod within said compressor standardsubstantially normal to the rack bar, said compressor standard having anend wall adjacent the tray side wall to which the rack is attached, saidcompressor standard end wall having a vertical slot therein throughwhich one end of said pawl rod extends and is guided thereby duringvertical movement of said rod end, said rod end terminating in a pawlelement which removably engages the teeth of the rack bar, said pawl rodbeing rotatably connected at its other end to said compressor standardin fixed bearing means, spring means connected to said compressorstandard normally biasing the free end of said pawl rod toward oneextremity of said vertical slot and said pawl element toward said bar,and means for rotating said pawl rod, said pawl rod being rotatable to afirst position wherein said pawl element angularly extends into thegroove between a pair of rack teeth into contact with the rear surfaceof the rack tooth which is closer to the tray end wall, said pawl rodbeing portable from said first position to an intermediate positionwherein said pawl element is intermediate the rack teeth and normal tothe axis of the rack with the pawl rod bent in a cantilever manner aboutits fixed rotatable connection to the compressor standard toward theother extremity of the slot in the standard end wall, and said pawl rodbeing rotatable from said intermediate position to said locked positionwherein the pawl element angularly extends in engagement with theforward surface of the other rack tooth, said compressor standard beingmoved toward said tray end wall during the rotational movement of saidpawl rod from said first position to said locked position.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for rotating saidpawl rod comprises an operating lever rigidly connected at one end tosaid pawl rod adjacent the bearing connection of the rod to thecompressor standard.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS412,625 Jewell Oct. 8, 1889 1,780,354 Larson et al. Nov. 4, 19301,891,522 Bullock Dec. 20, 1932 2,160,267 Griswold May 30, 19392,689,573 Foehrenbach Sept. 21, 1954

